My fav is to spend time getting to the heart of the matter with the loved ones closest to me, to see that there is no matter, (I often do that.) Then the fun would be a quiet craft, like beading, crocheting, or designing a quilt, (but that hovers closer to my mind than to my hands because of the ever present "however first"). To really defrag in a condensed amount of time, once in a great while...pressing the black and white keys with letter names on the biggest of stringed instruments will do nicely, as long as no one is within shouting distance!

Today's "however first", organizing, is the must on my closest horizon. Then all the fun stuff will be more fun. So today, we are organizing the new outbuilding for the first time. That's kinda quiet and requires craftiness, and I can do it with my son! What fun!

My husband and daughter will be home from work about 6 and 6:40, and we can talk about their important day. I have a new day planner, and it has been helpful to gather my thoughts and lists in one place...YAY! That's probably what I will really do next when all is quiet. Do y'all have anything I should write in there? Tee hee...what fun...I could get to the L in RELAX !

Joshua has arrived back from basketball, so we shall continue with the organization of the outbuilding. Tally ho!

We officially sold our home of nearly 20 years; the written offer came on New Year's Day. We closed on Friday, January 19th, my husband's birthday. The Lord blessed us with good weather during the move, while many of the rest of you had ice. I think we only had one or two cold days, and the rest of this final two weeks of moving it was often 60 to 70 degrees. It was such a contrast to your posts during this time. I am so thankful for God's blessing on our weather while we were in and out of doors.

Thanks for all your prayers during December and our loss of my dad. We have a lot to be thankful for, as he transitioned. God gave us time to call in my sister and brother from out of state. Lily-Bea and Joshua and their cousin Jason were all able to be here, along with Emily, since they were off from college for Christmas break. So the 4 oldest of 11 grandchildren were here with us.

Dad went into a coma on Friday, Dec. 15, but more than one hospice nurse told us that he could still hear us. So we reassured him, and played the US Navy hymn, which he loved, Strong to Save. We told him of our love, and that we would take care of Mom. But he didn't move or show expression. And then...Sunday night I said, "I'm Jenn and here's Linda, your two girls. Doesn't she have a pretty face? (As I pulled her next to me in front of where one of his eyes was open just a slit.)  A big tear showed up in the corner of his eye, and started rolling down his face. To me it was significant, from his dehydrated state, and showed me that he had indeed heard much of what we had said to him. On Monday morning, the 18th, he had a seizure which they tell me was from lack of electrolytes. To me it seemed he used the energy of the seizure to look at every one of us around his bed, eyes open wide.

To tell you about my Dad, two tours of duty in the Navy, college degrees in agriculture and electrical engineering, he was so humble. He was warm-hearted, giving a broad smile and willing to talk to every person he encountered, no matter how briefly, no matter how significant their station. He included us in what he was doing, whether it was sailing, looking at the stars, the trip to the hardware store, lecturing at the Whaling museum. He took me to the Pentagon to work with him one day, with a special visitor's pass. He worked in computers with Honeywell for 35 years, enduring all the changes, and teaching lots of them. He taught me and my siblings to play chess until we were playing on an even plateau with him. When the commercial plane went into the icy Potomac River he went to the site, with life jackets in his trunk, and they let him through the barricade. He couldn't help, but this son of a state trooper was there to try. At the last with dementia, forgetting how to care for himself, 115 pounds, 60% bone loss and losing his motor skills, muscle strength, and balance, with me and the nurse hanging on to help him walk, he would still stop at the door and wait for us ladies to go through first. I had to figure out how to go through first and not let the door swat him. He could barely climb in the car, but he would see Mom to her car door before he would get in.

Back about Emily's ninth grade in the summer, Dad scheduled an hour a day to help her with math. Now she's tutoring math at the community college this semester. In other words, he would help until the help got through. Yesterday evening, Emily was telling of tutoring times tables. She said the man exclaimed, "I got it! She opened up my brain and put it in there and I understand it." She told us how she explained the concept of times,  and how she showed it to him on paper, and then the times table. She went on to tell us how excited he was, exclamatory, moving his arms, etc. and that he is 57 years old! This time Emily had the broad smile.